The Associated Press
LONG BEACH, Calif. Ÿ When fourth-grader Calvin Williams dashes out to recess, he's wearing the same outfit as his friends Ÿ a crisp, white, tucked-in shirt and blue cotton shorts.
With gang violence on the rise on campuses across the nation, public schools like Calvin's are adopting uniform policies in increasing numbers as a way to ease the problem.
Administrators say the dress codes deter violence, improve conduct and bridge the socio-economic gap between children who wear expensive clothes and those who can't afford them.
''It shows that I don't want to be a gang member,'' said Calvin, proudly gesturing to his outfit. ''It shows that I'm a good person.''
Calvin attends Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in the Long Beach Unified School District, touted as the first in the country with a mandatory uniform policy.
More than 57,000 students in the district's 70 elementary and middle schools wear the uniforms daily. Colors and styles vary from campus to campus, based on things like campus colors and availability in local stores.
Rick Perruccio is a counselor at Lincoln. He said uniforms have not only eliminated gang apparel, but have motivated students to become more focused on their studies and closer to each other.
Parents first proposed a voluntary uniform policy to Long Beach officials five years ago. The uniforms were tried in a few schools and in 1994, the Board of Education approved a districtwide mandatory uniform policy, district spokesman Dick Van Der Laan said.
''School uniforms are part of the bigger picture of school reform,'' he said. ''We want to elevate standards for students.''
Under the 1994 bill, parents must receive at least six months notice of the policy and can sign a waiver to exclude their children from the program for reasons that may include religious or cultural considerations.
Other states also have developed laws regarding school dress codes, including New York and Maryland. In Illinois, if parents or school officials request uniforms, the school council is permitted, but not required, to initiate a policy.
Ronald Stephens, the director of the National School Safety Center at Pepperdine University in Malibu, called the uniform trend one of the best strategies for crime prevention in schools today.
He said uniforms were being adopted primarily in areas that are prone to gang activity where ''kids are mistaken by gang members simply because they wore a wrong color.''